HP today announced it will contribute the webOS software to the open source community. HP plans to continue to be active in the development and support of webOS. By combining the innovative webOS platform with the development power of the open source community, there is the opportunity to significantly improve applications and web services for the next generation of devices.

webOS offers a number of benefits to the entire ecosystem of web applications. For developers, applications can be easily built using standard web technologies. In addition, its single integrated stack offers multiplatform portability. For device manufacturers, it provides a single web-centric platform to run across multiple devices. As a result, the end user benefits from a fast, immersive user experience.

“webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.”

HP will make the underlying code of webOS available under an open source license. Developers, partners, HP engineers and other hardware manufacturers can deliver ongoing enhancements and new versions into the marketplace.

HP will engage the open source community to help define the charter of the open source project under a set of operating principles:

The goal of the project is to accelerate the open development of the webOS platform

HP will be an active participant and investor in the project

Good, transparent and inclusive governance to avoid fragmentation

Software will be provided as a pure open source project

HP also will contribute ENYO, the application framework for webOS, to the community in the near future along with a plan for the remaining components of the user space.

Beginning today, developers and customers are invited to provide input and suggestions here.

i really enjoy WebOS, and opening the code up is awesome. It will be nice to get some extra player in the mobile OS market, now if only MeeGo/Tizen gets its act together there will be a nice handful of choice available.

Let's hope it doesn't turn into another Meego. Either way, this is true openness, unlike a certain claimed-to-be-open-but-developed-entirely-behind-closed-doors mobile OS that only does code dumps when its owner feels like it.

Let's hope it doesn't turn into another Meego. Either way, this is true openness, unlike a certain claimed-to-be-open-but-developed-entirely-behind-closed-doors mobile OS that only does code dumps when its owner feels like it.

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ha, yeah, this is true. However, and i can't remember where i was reading it but, apparently, WebOS won't be entirely open ether, the development path will be very strict and directed closely by HP. The idea is to keep product recognition tight.